Asia's weekly TOP10 crypto news (Jun 17 to Jun 23)

Jun 23, 2024

1. Hong Kong Regulatory News This Week

1.1 Tiger Securities Announces Opening of Virtual Currency Trading to Hong Kong Retail Investors link

On June 17th, Tiger Brokers announced that following its earlier launch of virtual asset trading services for professional investors in Hong Kong, it has now obtained approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to upgrade its license, officially expanding these services to retail investors in Hong Kong. Currently, all retail investors in Hong Kong can use Tiger Brokers’ flagship platform, Tiger Trade, for comprehensive one-stop trading services. This includes Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as various global assets such as stocks, options, futures, US Treasury bonds, and funds.

1.2 Hong Kong Court Rules Conviction of Wong Ming-chung for Providing Unlicensed Investment Advice on TG link

On June 21st, the Eastern Magistrates’ Court in Hong Kong ruled in a case brought by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) that Wong Ming Chung was guilty of providing investment advice in a subscription-based Telegram chat group without holding the necessary license. Wong admitted to the charge of operating a business of providing advice on securities without a license and was fined HK$10,000. He was also ordered to pay the SFC’s investigation costs. Although Wong was a licensed representative of the SFC, he was only authorized to act on behalf of the company to which he was affiliated. In this instance, Wong operated the Telegram chat group in a personal capacity, which was open to paid subscribers, providing comments on the performance of the Hang Seng Index and various Hong Kong-listed securities, and responding to subscribers’ queries.

2. South Korea’s FSC: Will Not Directly Participate in Token Inspection and Delisting Processes link

Starting July 19th, South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act will come into effect, mandating comprehensive reviews by cryptocurrency exchanges of over 600 virtual assets currently listed for trading. The 29 cryptocurrency exchanges registered with financial authorities such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax will be required to periodically assess whether to continue supporting the trading of their listed assets. Exchanges must establish dedicated departments to evaluate the reliability of asset issuers, user protection measures, technical and security aspects, as well as compliance. Initial reviews will occur every six months, followed by maintenance reviews every three months.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea announced that it will not directly participate in the inspection of cryptocurrencies listed on South Korean exchanges. Earlier rumors suggested that the South Korean financial regulatory agency planned to delist cryptocurrencies that do not meet listing requirements by July this year. The FSC stated that the final announcements regarding token inspections and delistings will be handled by each cryptocurrency exchange and the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA), a consulting body for South Korean digital asset exchanges. The upcoming review next month of over 600 tokens, which caused panic among the South Korean community, is believed to be one of the reasons for the recent crash in meme coins.

3. Taiwan Regulatory News This Week

3.1 Taiwanese Individual Faces Charges for Illegal Betting on Elections via Virtual Currency on Polymarket link

In January this year, prior to the elections in Taiwan, a person surnamed Chen placed bets on the Polymarket gambling website. They wagered 472.17 USDC on Ko Wen-je winning the election and an additional 60.19 USDC on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) winning a significant number of seats. The Shilin District Prosecutors Office accused Chen of violating the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, which prohibits gambling on election results via the internet, and the Public Officials Election and Recall Act, which similarly prohibits gambling on central public officials’ election results via the internet.

Considering that Chen admitted to the offense and had no prior criminal record, they were granted a one-year suspension of prosecution. As a condition, Chen must pay a fine of 30,000 NT dollars to the public treasury.

3.2 Taiwan Plans to Finalize Virtual Asset Management Rules Draft by December, Considers Introducing Overseas Bitcoin ETFs link

Jin-Lung Peng, Chairman of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission, announced that the Taiwanese financial sector plans to relax regulations and offer more products. The regulatory body will present eased rules for fintech innovation in July and complete a draft for virtual asset management regulations by December. Additionally, they are considering permitting investments in overseas Bitcoin ETFs. Currently, the Financial Supervisory Commission oversees financial institutions with total assets amounting to TWD 109 trillion (approximately USD 3.4 trillion).

4. Shareholders and Executives of Huludao Bank Involved in Virtual Currency Money Laundering Case, Involving 1.8 Billion RMB link

In August 2020, Li Yulin, the former Party Secretary of Huludao Bank, colluded with the bank’s president Li Xiaodong, as well as shareholders Duan Motao and Zhou Long. They fabricated an asset management plan under the pretext of resolving non-performing assets and embezzled 2.6 billion yuan of bank funds. In September 2020, Zhou Long and another individual (handled separately) illegally converted over 1.8 billion yuan into foreign currency and transferred it to an account controlled by Duan Motao’s Hong Kong company.

Another individual, Xiang Mou, along with Chen and others, purchased virtual currencies at high prices within a WeChat group for cryptocurrency trading. They then sold these currencies to overseas cryptocurrency dealers at a profit, converting them into US dollars and remitting them to Duan Motao’s Hong Kong company account. The court determined that Chen knew the funds were illegally sourced but still assisted in converting them into virtual currencies and transferring them abroad, constituting money laundering. Chen was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison and fined 2 million yuan, with confiscation of the illegal gains.

5. India’s Anti-Money Laundering Department Imposes $2.2 Million Fine on Binance link

India’s anti-money laundering department announced on Thursday that Binance has been fined approximately $2.2 million for non-compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering rules due to providing services to Indian customers. In January 2024, Binance and several other offshore cryptocurrency exchanges were issued show-cause notices by Indian authorities for “illegally operating” and subsequently expelled from India. However, Binance and KuCoin became the first offshore crypto-related entities approved by India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in May, subject to paying fines following hearings with the FIU.

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6. Montenegro Prime Minister Milojko Spajic One of Terraform Labs’ Early Investors link

The court documents released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicate that Spajic invested $75,000 to purchase 750,000 Luna tokens in April 2018, around the time when Terraform Labs was formally established on April 23, 2018. These tokens reached a peak value of over $90 million. Previously, Spajic claimed that the investment in Terraform Labs was made by Das Capital SG, a Singaporean company he had worked for. However, according to the SEC documents, he personally appeared as the 16th investor on the investor list.

7. Laser Digital Limited, Cryptocurrency Subsidiary of Japan’s Nomura Holdings, Receives Broker License in Abu Dhabi link

Nomura Holdings’ cryptocurrency subsidiary, Laser Digital Limited, has secured a brokerage license in Abu Dhabi, enabling it to offer brokerage trading, asset, and fund management services for both traditional and digital assets in the region. The company stated that it chose Abu Dhabi as a destination for its expansion plans due to the local innovative and crypto-friendly regulatory environment. Abu Dhabi serves as the capital and largest emirate of the United Arab Emirates. It is understood that the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi approved the company’s Financial Services Permission (FSP) application, completing its comprehensive licensing process within Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

8. Tether Announces Partnership with Taipei Tech University to Launch Blockchain and Digital Assets Education Program link

Tether has announced a collaboration with Taipei Tech University to launch a blockchain and digital assets education program. The curriculum includes foundational topics on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, critical thinking development, risk awareness and investment principles, legal education, as well as industry insights and career prospects. The inaugural “Blockchain and Digital Assets” education program has been introduced at Taipei Tech’s College of Management, attracting over 110 students and becoming one of the most popular courses in the Information and Finance Department. Over the past two years, Tether has sponsored more than 30 students and professors to attend the Plan B Summer School in Lugano, and this year, they have supported 15 students and professors to participate in the Plan B Business School.

9. South Korean Crypto Financial Firm Delio Plans to Transfer Debt by Establishing New Company link

Delio, the virtual asset management and lending platform in South Korea, has notified creditors of its plan to establish a new company to take over all its debts. Delio intends to sell its existing entities, including a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), and utilize the proceeds from the sales to address its financial obligations. Currently, Delio is facing legal proceedings for allegedly embezzling approximately 250 billion Korean Won (180 million USD) in cryptocurrency and abruptly halting access to cryptocurrency without prior notice. Industry observers have pointed out that Delio’s plan may be unrealistic and could be a strategy to seek leniency during the trial.

10. HashKey Platform’s Token HSK Plans Listing in Q3 2024 link

HashKey Group has announced that its platform token, HSK, is scheduled to be listed in Q3 2024 and will be utilized across all core applications within the HashKey ecosystem. Prior to listing, HSK will initiate a community airdrop to reward ecosystem participants. The total supply of HSK is set at 1 billion tokens, with 65% allocated for ecosystem development, 30% for the team, and 5% reserved as a treasury fund.

In addition, HashKey Global has announced regulatory approval and the official launch of its contract trading functionality. The initial phase of contract trading supports BTC and ETH, with a maximum leverage of up to 10x. HashKey Global is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), ensuring that client assets and data are stored independently and that the platform does not engage in counterparty trading with clients, thereby mitigating risks such as front-running and client losses.

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